


july sensations

by roccoco



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Birthday, Boys In Love, Coming Out, Crushes, Fever, First Crush, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Hot Weather, M/M, Oblivious Uchiha Sasuke, Pre-Slash, Sasuke Uchiha is a dork, Summer, Summer Fic, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Uchiha Sasuke's Birthday, Uchiha Sasuke-centric, sasuke never left the village, tho they have feelings for each other ofc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25453972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roccoco/pseuds/roccoco
Summary: It was probably the heat. Yes, it had to be. What other reason could explain all these weird feelings Sasuke was getting around Naruto?
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 21
Kudos: 157





	july sensations

**Author's Note:**

> im posting this as a happy birthday fic for my favorite uchiha!! it's set in an alternate reality where naruto convinced sasuke not to leave konoha so team seven is still together, closer and stronger. enjoy!!

It was _hot_. Not the spring-sunny-Sunday-afternoon kind of hot, though, no — it felt as if the whole planet was suffering from a horrible fever. It made sense for the 21st of July to be fiercely warm, but this? This was way too much for Sasuke to take, especially since he was on a mission with the rest of Team 7. It was utterly and completely sultry in the Land of the Waves and yet, for some reason, he seemed to be the only one affected.

Not that the others didn’t realize that it was warm, of course. Sasuke caught a glimpse of his teammates every once in a while and they, too, were covered in thick beads of sweat. Still, the dizziness, the light-headedness produced by the oppressive moist in the atmosphere were symptoms that, as far as Sasuke could tell, only he was presenting.

“Okay guys, we’re gonna take a small break here,” said Kakashi-sensei, coming to a halt as he landed on the ground gracefully, his students following closely behind. They hadn’t reached the city yet and were crossing a forest much like Konohagakure’s.

“Hah?! Why now? The sun’s setting already!” Naruto’s loud voice echoed in Sasuke’s head, which throbbed with every word the boy spoke. “We’re so close, we could reach the city in a couple’ hours if we hurry!”

“Kakashi-sensei, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, Naruto’s right!” Sakura added as she nodded her head enthusiastically — Sasuke noted her short pink hair had become a bushy mess thanks to the humidity of the air. “I, uh, we can keep going!”

Kakashi hummed pensively scratching his masked chin with his left hand. “I know you two can.”

“What?! You can’t be saying _you’re_ tired, you’re not even _that_ old!”

“Naruto,” Kakashi stopped him before he could continue ranting, “I think Sasuke here would appreciate it if you kept your voice down.”

“Whu-?”

The two genins turned towards their teammate. Sasuke looked away, his blush spreading even more with embarrassment. He shouldn’t be making the mission longer than necessary. He should be able to continue, just like the others. He was prepared to give everyone a short speech encompassing the reasons why they should go on, never mind his condition, but Kakashi got ahead of him before he even had a chance to open his mouth.

“I’ve been slowing down our rhythm significantly for the last hour to see if you’d recover, Sasuke, but at this rate we’ll end up wasting time and effort. Rest a little and we’ll continue once you feel better, end of discussion,” Kakashi said firmly, patting Sasuke on the shoulder.

“Sorry,” he muttered begrudgingly, “I didn’t mean to slow down the mission.”

“Ah, well, it’s out of your hands,” Kakashi waved it off with a sigh, “It’s not like you went out of your way to try to get a heatstroke.”

Yet neither Naruto nor Sakura had got it. Why him, then? Did he not train hard enough? Was his body unhealthy? Naruto couldn’t possibly be better than him, after all. He had gotten stronger, training with Jiraiya and all, but he was still lacking technique. So, why? Why was he smiling like an idiot while Sasuke could barely stay on his feet?

And _why, oh, why_ did his stomach feel funny when he looked at him?

“Fine,” he said and sat down, leaning on a tree and closing his eyes for a moment.

But boy, did it feel good to finally get some peace of mind — and well, body too. Sasuke tried to stay awake, but after a few minutes he was out like a lamp. Images of blond hair, bright blue eyes and smiles so pure they make your heart wrench flashed through his mind. So _annoying_ , Naruto wouldn’t ever leave him alone, not even in his dreams! The incessant urge to roll his eyes suddenly made him realize he’d woken up.

He _also_ realized that he wasn’t leaning on the tree any longer. His head was resting on somebody’s shoulder, as far as he could sense with his eyes still closed — his eyelids were so heavy, he couldn’t bring himself to lift them. The headache was gone, at the very least, and that was good enough for now.

“Naruto?” he mumbled groggily, eyelashes fluttering open.

“Oh, Sasuke-kun! You’re awake!” he heard Sakura’s voice close to his head and felt her shift to look at him, “Naruto’s over there.”

Turning his head a little to look in the direction she was pointing, he noticed three things. Firstly, Naruto and Kakashi were asleep, or resting their eyes. Secondly, the sky was a lot darker than it had been when he fell asleep. And, last but not least, he was completely leaning on Sakura, who’d been crushing on him for forever — and while Sasuke did find Sakura tolerable after nearly two years of training with her and Naruto… well, he didn’t want to get her hopes up.

He scrambled away from as fast as he could in his half-asleep state and awkwardly looked at her to ask her what was going on. Naruto and Kakashi woke up as well, probably because of the noise, but let Sakura explain.

“Well, I was sitting next to you when you fell asleep and, your, uh, your head fell on my shoulder,” a light blush formed in the kunoichi’s cheeks, “and I noticed you were really hot — warm! I mean, you were really warm! That’s how I realized you had a really bad fever, and Kakashi suggested that we let you rest then, since that might help. And I also performed medical ninjutsu-”

“You did?” Sasuke asked, genuinely surprised, “While I was asleep?”

“Hey, hey, bastard! Are you doubting Sakura-chan’s abilities?!”

“Naruto, it’s fine-”

“No, I’m not,” Sasuke stopped the two before they could start arguing. He really didn’t doubt Sakura’s abilities. Ever since she’d started training with the Hokage, Sakura had improved a lot. “I just — I find it weird that I didn’t wake up, that’s all.”

Team 7’s communication skills and their general dynamic had improved a lot after spending so much time together. They weren’t twelve anymore, and even though they were still kids, their growth was impressive. Sasuke, who once cared only about revenge and almost left the village, was now a bit more open and, dare I say, _trusting_ with his teammates. Sakura had built up an incredible inner and outer strength, and was an incredibly valuable medical nin. And Naruto…

Naruto.

Sasuke didn’t exactly know how to put his feelings for the dumbass into words.

Naruto had somehow become his best friend. Neither of them could pinpoint the exact moment where their mutual hate had become just friendly bickering with a hidden layer of _care_ for the other, but if it weren’t for that, Sasuke could have ended up doing who knows what for Orochimaru. But he didn’t, and his bond with the idiot had only grown and grown and kept on growing, to the point where Sasuke wasn’t even sure that it was normal for a friendship between two boys.

And Naruto was _touchy_. A clingy person in general. They’d high-five after a good strategy during missions, and his hand would linger a little too long over Sasuke’s; he’d lean on Sasuke when he overused his _chakra_ and his knees started giving out; he’d sit close, to the point where their thighs would occassionaly brush against the other and their elbows would bump all the time, when they were having dinner as a team on Ichiraku; he’d put an arm over his shoulders whenever Sasuke took his side on a discussion, and many, many more things that left his hands trembling and his stomach tingling.

It was probably the heat. Yes, it had to be. What other reason could explain all these weird feelings he was getting around Naruto?

“Did I pass out for a whole hour? It’s dark,” he looked at Kakashi for confirmation.

“Well, Sasuke, you see,” Kakashi scratched the back of his neck, and Sasuke definitely did not like the tone of his voice, “It’s actually two in the morning. You were quite sick, so we decided let you rest so you could heal faster.”

His eyes widened. Two. That meant he’d been asleep for six hours, at least, making the team worry about him and wasting time when-

“It’s _fine_ , Sasuke!” Naruto smiled at him, and Sasuke suddenly felt too hot again, “You’re part of Team 7 for a reason, y’know. We wouldn’t want to have to fight without you, even though I _could_ do everything by myself if Kakashi-sensei let me!”

Despite everything, Sasuke smiled. “Sure you could, dumbass.”

“Hey! What was that?!”

They set off quickly after checking to see if Sasuke’s fever was really gone for good, and got to the city in the morning. They were tired of course, but they were ninjas. A good breakfast was enough to charge them with energy for the rest of the day and, fortunately, Sakura’s ninjutsu worked wonders — even if the weather was still obnoxiously tropical.

Their mission was a simple, C-rank delivery for a wealthy family that lived in a mansion on the other end of the city. The easiest, shortest path would’ve been to simply cross the town, but Kakashi argued it would be better to go around it, even if it took a few more hours. Inside the town, they would have to be constantly on guard for possible burglars that might be trying to steal the package, but if they simply stayed on the outskirts, they would be more relaxed. Or, at least, Kakashi would be relaxed, reading his terrible porn books while Sasuke and the rest of the team would had to focus on the mission.

It was a few hours into the journey that the topic Sasuke had been trying to avoid was brought to the table.

“Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura suddenly exclaimed, “What day is it today?!”

“Well, we set off yesterday which was July 21st, so today has to be the 22nd, why?”

“Sasuke-kun!” she turned towards him, frustration painted all over her features, “Tomorrow’s your birthday, isn’t it?! I’m so sorry, I forgot to get you a present!”

“You’re right,” Naruto’s mouth opened in the shape of an ‘o’, “It _is_ your birthday. You bastard, why didn’t you say anything?”

Sasuke shrugged. He never really celebrated his birthday anyway, since he had no one to celebrate it with. Even though last year he had already been a part of the team, he wasn’t focused on celebrating anything in that moment. What was there to celebrate anyway? Turning fourteen? Another year of his life that he’d wasted trying avenge his clan, as if that could bring them back; almost deserting Konoha, failing the Chuunin Exams after the whole ordeal with Orochimaru…

The list could go on and on, but the point was more than clear: thirteen was definitely not Sasuke’s year.

But maybe that was the whole point of it. To leave behind the bad memories from the past, or to mark a point in which he could see that he wasn’t the person he was back then. Even if it all had happened around seven months ago, Sasuke wasn’t the same.

“It’s fine,” he told Sakura, trying his best to appear _friendly_ , “I didn’t expect you to get me anything, I don’t care.”

Sakura seemed even sadder, realizing that Sasuke didn’t even consider getting presents from his teammates a likely happening on his birthday. Kakashi took this as his cue to intervene.

“It is _tomorrow_ , you know,” he turned toward Sakura and Naruto, “We still have time to think of something.”

Sakura almost brightened up, but Sasuke shook his head.

“No, we’ve already wasted enough time,” he said flatly, “If you really want to do something for me, focus on the mission.”

Just like Kakashi had predicted, they didn’t encounter any burglars on the way. The sky was already getting dark when they exited the mansion after successfully handing in the package, and the four ninjas were admittedly exhausted. This time, they decided to enter the town, stopping at the cheapest hotel Kakashi could spot and getting three rooms. One for Kakashi, another one for Sakura and the last one for the two boys.

As usual, Cheap-kashi got them a room with only one, mid-sized bed.

Not that it was a problem, after so many missions with their sensei, they were used to sharing — Sasuke was used to Naruto’s loud snores and unconscious kicks; and Naruto was used to Sasuke stealing all the blankets in winter and his tendency to hold on to anything his body would find, whether that be pillows, the duvet or, occasionally and embarrassingly enough, Naruto’s arm.

But, with all these recent feelings, Sasuke wasn’t sure if sharing a room _and_ a bed was the best idea. Especially since he wasn’t completely sure he wasn’t sick anymore, and his mind could get… confused.

They were getting ready for bed when Naruto asked something that made Sasuke’s heart freeze in place.

“So… you’re finally giving Sakura-chan a chance, huh?”

Naruto looked sad, the usual glint in his sky-blue eyes completely faded, but he kept a fake smile on his face.

“A chance?”

“C’mon, you were being nice, today. You’re never nice!” Naruto laughed, but it was empty, and Sasuke didn’t like that sound, “Plus, I saw you sleeping on her _shoulder_ , like a _couple_.”

Sasuke swallowed, hard. He clearly didn’t get his feelings for Naruto, but if there was something he was sure of, it was the fact that he absolutely did not like girls. Boys, he wasn’t sure, especially with the way his body was reacting around his _very male_ best friend; but girls? They just didn’t do it for him. He confirmed his theory once he actually started considering Sakura as someone _likeable_ , but still didn’t feel anything outside friendly care for her. Yes, if there was any girl Sasuke was going to like, it was Sakura, and yet…

He didn’t.

And for a while, he thought he might just feel that way around everyone. He didn’t feel anything for any guy either, after all. That was, of course, until the beginning of that summer, when all of a sudden his body just started giving him signals.

He remembered, in June, when Naruto scraped his leg with a shuriken and had Sasuke patch him up; how his hands trembled and his heart sped up, how he had to pretend the blush on his cheeks was due to agitation and not infatuation. How, when they walked back from the training grounds, their hands brushed against each other and Sasuke had both the urge to hide his hand in a pocket _and_ grab Naruto’s at the same time; how he was _so close_ to linking their pinkies.

“I don’t like Sakura like that,” Sasuke said quietly, “We’re just teammates, so, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Worry?! Why would I be worried?!”

For a second, Sasuke saw fear in Naruto’s eyes, though he didn’t really understand why. Everyone knew Naruto liked Sakura, seeing as he didn’t even try to hide it.

“Well, I don’t like the girl _you_ like,” Sasuke reasoned, a bit confused, “So, you don’t have any ‘competition,’ I guess.”

“Oh,” Naruto sighed, “ _Oh_. You think I like Sakura!”

Sasuke raised a brow, “You don’t?”

“No! Well, not anymore,” Naruto laughed, “I’m just annoying her, she knows I’m joking. I think she does, at least. I mean, she’s just my friend.”

Sasuke nodded, and couldn’t help but feel relieved. Nothing worse than a love triangle between teammates. Plus, he couldn’t deny that Naruto not liking Sakura, the very small chance that he might return Sasuke’s feelings made him feel _so-_

“Sasuke!” Naruto gasped, “You’re smiling!”

“I’m not!”

“You _were_!”

“Shut up!”

He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt and kept his gaze on the floor. Now that he thought about it, Naruto not liking Sakura probably meant he’d just started crushing on someone else. Some other _girl_. Nothing Sasuke did or said would give him a chance if Naruto wasn’t even attracted to boys.

“So, if you don’t like Sakura,” Naruto said all of a sudden, bringing him out of his thoughts, “Who’s the unlucky girl?”

Sasuke sighed. It was about damn time he told someone about it. And while telling your crush you are gay might not be the safest option, Naruto was his best friend before anything else.

“I don’t…” he sat on the bed, trying to keep his voice steady and fiddling with the fabric of his shorts like it was the most interesting thing in the world, “I don’t think I… No, I know I don’t like girls.”

Naruto sat down next to him, crossing his legs. “Oh.”

“You don’t think it’s weird, do you?”

“No, I just…”

Naruto trailed off, and Sasuke could already hear all of the terrible comments that could end that sentence. _‘You don’t like me, right?’ ‘I’m fine with it as long as you don’t kiss any guys in front of me.’ ‘I don’t support your lifestyle, but I accept you-’_

“Me too.”

At that, Sasuke looked up. Naruto was flustered up to the tips of his ears, and right then, Sasuke knew he’d probably never said that out loud either.

“Really?”

“I mean,” Naruto added and Sasuke’s heart skipped a beat, “Not exactly. I do like girls but… uh… boys too, I guess that just doesn’t matter to me. Is that okay?”

“Yeah.” Sasuke nodded, his mouth suddenly very dry, “I mean, if it’s what you feel then, it must be right. I just don’t like girls at all.”

A small silence settled around them as they processed the new information they had just learned about the other. It was awkward, of course, but Sasuke felt genuinely happy for the first time in a while; not because there was a small chance Naruto might return his feelings now — well, not only because of that — but because he wasn’t the only boy who felt _like this_. For someone who was always so individualistic, it was strange for Sasuke to find comfort in a similarity with a _friend_ , and yet he did. He attributed this to the fact that during most of his short life, Sasuke thought he was the only one who felt like this in the entire village. He remembered his father speaking about a certain cousin who had to leave the clan out of shame, and vowed to never tell his family about his sexuality, thinking he might be able to feel something for a girl someday.

 _But_ , as horrifying as it might sound, it’s not like his family was a problem anymore.

“So,” Naruto said after a while, smiling deviously and crawling towards him until they were eye to eye, “Is there a _boy_ you like?”

If his heartbeat was already fast, Sasuke noticed just how strong it had become as mere inches separated them. He looked away and changed the subject after clearing his throat.

“How, uh, how long have you known?”

Naruto looked a little disappointed, but Sasuke didn’t question that. “I guess around… six months? What about you?” Sasuke muttered his reply quietly, way too quietly. “You don’t have to say anything but if you’re going to speak, say it louder so I can hear you.”

“Five years!” he yelled, and went back to his usual flat voice, “I mean, I started considering it five years ago, but after that everything just started making more sense, so I never questioned it further.”

Then, there was silence. Awkwardness. But above all, trust. Because they didn’t need to tell anyone else what happened then. Sasuke would’ve kissed Naruto right there, if he wasn’t so fucking scared of ruining this new, strange yet exciting dimension of their friendship. So, he laughed, feeling the nerves leave him, and a few seconds later, Naruto joined in.

“Oi, Sasuke, bastard,” Naruto said after calming down, wiping a tiny tear away, “What time is it?”

Sasuke checked the clock on his nightstand, forgetting the reason why Naruto was asking that.

“It’s five past twelve,” he said, and then it hit him. _Right._

But he didn’t have too much time to think about it, because Naruto had thrown himself over him with a loud cry of “Happy birthday, bastard!” and Sasuke’s mind went completely blank. Well, it was blank for a couple of seconds, until it was filled with a thousand different thoughts, all of them at the same time.

“Dumbass, shut up, you’re gonna wake up half of the hotel!” he whispered urgently, half laughing, “And get off me!”

“You know, for someone with such a constant resting bitch face,” Naruto smirked at him, still not letting go, “Your laugh is pretty nice.”

Sasuke sputtered and went even redder, making Naruto smile even wider. He put a hand over Naruto’s face and pushed him until he let go, but even then he was still laughing as he tucked himself in bed, and Sasuke was still as red as his sharingan whenever it was activated.

“Shut the fuck up, will you?”

“Ah, there's the Sasuke we know and love!”

And if Sasuke’s heart did a little jump at the last word spoken by Naruto, that’s between his heart and himself.

The next morning, unsurprisingly enough, he woke up clinging to his best friend’s arm while suffocating under all the blankets that he’d stolen overnight despite the hot weather. Thankfully, Naruto was still asleep and Sasuke was able to panic without needing to pretend to be calm. After failing at waking up Naruto _twice_ (the guy was such a heavy sleeper), he headed for the bathroom. Realization hit him as he stared at himself in the mirror, right when he stepped out of the shower.

There was no turning back now that he’d said it. He had successfully come out to his best friend, to the guy he had been crushing on for months. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad birthday. Maybe there was something he could celebrate, after all.

He couldn’t hide the small smile that painted his features when he went down for breakfast and the team was already waiting for him with a small birthday cake. They sang him the happy birthday song and he blew out the candles with a fake begrudging frown. Sakura hugged him and kissed his cheek (which he didn’t particularly _enjoy_ , but the look on Naruto’s face was worth it), Kakashi ruffled his hair, and Naruto just gave him a knowing smile before they set off for the village.

 _No,_ Sasuke thought, the suffocating heat he’d felt before completely forgotten, _it wasn’t a bad birthday at all._

**Author's Note:**

> if you've reached here, thank you so much for reading!! i am writing a longer au/fic that stems from this one-shot, but i wanted to post it for sasuke's birthday anyway because it can be read as a stand-alone story by itself, for people who don't want to read loooooong fics.  
> again, thank you so much for reading, i hope you have a lovely day (or night, because i know most of you read fics at 3 am)
> 
> if you want to read the continuation to this one-shot, here's the link to the story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26037445/chapters/63317530  
> it's called "through the years" and you can find it in my works :)


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